Windshield wiper blade protector

ABSTRACT

A windshield wiper protector includes a protection actuating assembly connected to the wiper and a stationary lifting arm attached to the windshield. A roller is pivotally mounted on the top of the stationary lifting arm and an inclined drive plate is attached to the protection actuating assembly. The protection actuating assembly and the wiper will be lifted up when the wiper is moved to the original position due to the inclined drive plate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a protector, and moreparticularly to a windshield wiper blade protector.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] The wiper blade for a car windshield usually speedily hardens anddeteriorates due to the high-temperature of the windshield caused bysunshine because the wiper blade always presses against the windshieldof the car. Consequently, a windshield wiper blade protector to lift thewiper blade off the windshield to prevent the wiper blade from speedilystiffening and deteriorating has been marketed.

[0005] With reference to FIG. 5, the conventional windshield wiper bladeprotector (40) in accordance with the prior art comprises a clamp (41)and a support (42). The clamp (41) clamps a bracket (51) of a wiper (50)with a wiper blade (52). One end of the support (42) is pivotallyconnected to the clamp (41), and the other end is free to press againstthe surface of the windshield to force the clamp (41) away from thewindshield to cause the wiper blade (52) to lift off the surface of thewindshield.

[0006] With reference to FIG. 6, a torsion spring (43) is mountedbetween the clamp (41) and the support (42). A slot (411) is defined inone side of the clamp (41), and a protrusion (44) is formed on thesupport (42) to be selectively locked in the slot (411) in the clamp(41). The torsion spring (43) is twisted to store a restitution forcewhen the protrusion (44) is locked in the slot (411) in the clamp (41).The protrusion (44) is removed from the slot (411) and moved laterallyand upwardly to prevent the protector (40) from contacting thewindshield when the wiper (50) is in use. The user must manually turnthe support (42) to twist the torsion spring (43) and lock theprotrusion (44) in the slot (411) after the wiper (50) has been used.

[0007] However, if the user forgets to twist the support (42) and lockthe protrusion (44) in the slot (411), the conventional wiper protector(40) becomes useless because the wiper blade (52) presses against thewindshield whether the wiper (50) is used or not. The conventionalwindshield wiper protector (40) needs to be altered advantageously.

[0008] The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate thedisadvantages of the conventional windshield wiper blade protector (40).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The main objective of the present invention is to provide animproved windshield wiper blade protector that prevents the wiper bladefrom damage due to high temperature of the windshield caused bysunshine.

[0010] To achieve the objective, the windshield wiper blade protector inaccordance with the present invention includes a protection actuatingassembly connected to the wiper and a stationary lifting arm attached tothe windshield. A roller is pivotally mounted on the top of thestationary lifting arm and an inclined drive plate is attached to theprotection actuating assembly. The protection actuating assembly and thewiper blade will be lifted up when the wiper is moved to the originalposition as the inclined drive plate rides up on the roller.

[0011] Further benefits and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description withappropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a side plan view of a windshield wiper blade protectorin accordance with the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the windshield wiperblade protector in FIG. 1;

[0014]FIG. 3 is an operational side plan view in partial section of thewindshield wiper blade protector in FIG. 1;

[0015]FIG. 4 is an operational front plan view of a protection actuatingassembly of the windshield wiper blade protector in FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 5 is an operational perspective view of a conventionalwindshield wiper blade protector in accordance with prior art; and

[0017]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the conventional windshield wiperblade protector in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] With reference to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1-3, awindshield wiper blade protector in accordance with the presentinvention comprises a protection actuating assembly (10) and astationary lifting arm (20). The protection actuating assembly (10) isadapted to be mounted on a windshield wiper (30) consisting of a bracket(31) and a wiper blade (32). The wiper blade (32) is mounted in thebracket (31) and presses against the surface of a windshield (A). Thestationary lifting arm (20) is adapted to be attached to the windshield(A). The protection actuating assembly (10) rides up on the stationarylifting arm (20) to make the windshield wiper blade (32) lift off thesurface of the windshield (A) when the protection actuating assembly(10) moves back to abut the stationary lifting arm (20).

[0019] The stationary lifting arm (20) comprises a base plate (21), anarm (211) and a roller (22). The base plate (21) is adapted to beattached to the windshield (A). The arm (211) extends perpendicular upfrom one side of the base plate (21) and has a free end. The roller (22)is rotatably mounted on the free end of the arm (211).

[0020] The protection actuating assembly (10) comprises a connectingblock (11), a body (12) and a drive plate (14). The connecting block(11) is adapted to be connected to the windshield wiper bracket (3 1).The body (12) is movably attached to the connecting block (11). Thedrive plate (14) is attached to the body (12). A pair of parallel ears(110) extends from a face of the connecting block (11) opposite to thebody (12), and the windshield wiper bracket (32) is inserted between thetwo ears (11). A bolt (113) is screwed through one of the ears (110) topress and hold the windshield wiper bracket (32) in place between thetwo ears (110). A flat face (111) is formed on the connecting block(11), and another flat face (121) corresponding to and facing the flatface (111) on the connecting block (11) is formed on the body (12). Theflat faces (111, 121) slidably abut each other. A bolt (15) extendsthrough the body (12) and is screwed into the connecting block (11) tohold the connecting block (11) in place on the body (12) after the flatfaces (111, 121) are pressed against each other. A tongue (13) extendsradially out from the body (12) and a slot (131) is longitudinallydefined in the tongue (13).

[0021] The drive plate (14) is L-shaped and comprises a sliding arm(142) and a connecting arm (141). Both the sliding arm (142) and theconnecting arm (141) have free distal ends and proximal ends joinedtogether. The sliding arm (142) is provided to slide on the roller (22)of the stationary lifting arm (20). The sliding arm (142) and theconnecting arm (141) form an acute angle because the free end of thesliding arm (142) projects slightly upward. The connecting arm (141) isattached to the tongue (13), and a threaded hole (143) is defined in theconnecting arm (141) to correspond to the slot (131) in the tongue (13).A bolt (16) extends through the slot (131) in the tongue (13) and isscrewed into the threaded hole (143) to hold the drive plate (14) inplace.

[0022] The protection actuating assembly (10) is lifted away from thesurface of the windshield (a) when the free end of the sliding arm (142)of the drive plate (14) contracts the roller (22) of the stationarylifting arm (20) as the wiper (30) approaches the original positionbecause the sliding arm (142) is inclined relative to the windshield(A). Consequently, the wiper blade (32) is lifted off of the windshield(A) because the wiper (30) is attached to the protection actuatingassembly (10) and the protection actuating assembly (10) is lifted awayfrom the windshield (A) due to the inclined sliding arm (142) of thedrive plate (14).

[0023] The wiper blade (32) is always separated from the windshield (A)when the wiper (30) is in the original position so that the user doesnot need to take any action, and the wiper blade (32) is protected. Thedesign is convenient and prevents the wiper blade (32) from damagewithout human intervention.

[0024] With reference to FIGS. 2 and 4, a hole (122) is defined in thebody (12) and extends and is perpendicular to the flat face (121) of thebody (12). The body (12) has a slit (123) defined in an outer peripheryof the body (12). The slit (123) is parallel to the hole (122) in thebody (12) and communicates with the hole (122). At least two lockingholes (112) are defined in the connecting block (11) and extend and areperpendicular to the flat face (111) of the connecting block (11). Thelocking holes (112) in the connecting block (11) selectively correspondto the hole (122) in the body (12). A spring (125) is compressivelymounted in the hole (122) of the body (12), and a locking pin (124) ismovably mounted in the hole (122) in the body (12). The locking pin(124) has two opposite ends, one abutting the spring (125) and the otherextending into the hole (112) in the connecting block (11) to preventthe body (12) from rotating when the bolt (15) is loosened. A drive pin(126) extends through the slit (123) and is attached radially to thelocking pin (124). To prevent the drive plate (14) from contacting theroller (22), the bolt (15) is loosened, and the locking pin (124) isdriven to compress the spring (125) and filly move into the hole (122)in the body (12). Consequently, the body (12) can be rotated relative tothe connecting block (11) to make the other locking hole (112) alignwith the locking pin (124) such that the locking pin (124) extends intothe other locking hole (112) to lock the body (12) again. With the body(12) in this alternate position, the drive plate (14) never contacts theroller (22) even when the wiper (30) moves back to the originalposition. Since the temperature during winter is lower than that duringsummer, the windshield wiper blade protector is unnecessary in winter.Preventing the drive plate (14) from touching the roller (22) canlengthen the using life of the windshield wiper blade protector when thewindshield wiper blade protector is unnecessary.

[0025] Although the invention has been explained in relation to itspreferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A windshield wiper blade protector comprising: astationary lifting arm comprising: a base plate adapted to be attachedto the windshield; an arm extending up from one side of the base plate;and a roller pivotally mounted on a free end of the arm; and aprotection actuating assembly adapted to be mounted on a wiper andcomprising: a connecting block adapted to be attached to the wiper; abody attached to the connecting block; and a drive plate attached to thebody, the drive plate having a sliding arm provided to slide on theroller of the stationary lifting arm and a connecting arm extending fromone side of the sliding arm opposite to the stationary lifting arm, thesliding arm having a free end projecting upward relative to thewindshield and forming an acute angle with the connecting arm; whereinthe protection actuating assembly and the wiper are lifted up due theangle of the sliding plate when the wiper is moved to its originalposition and the sliding arm slides on the roller so that the wiperblade is always detached from the windshield when the wiper is moved tothe original position to prevent the wiper blade from damage due a hightemperature of the windshield caused by sunshine.
 2. The windshieldwiper blade protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body comprisesa tongue extending radially from the body and having a slotlongitudinally defined in the tongue, the connecting arm has a threadedhole defined in the connecting arm near the end and a locking bolt isscrewed into the threaded hole in the connecting arm of the drive plateafter extending through the slot in the tongue to hold the drive platein place.
 3. The windshield wiper blade protector as claimed in claim 1,wherein the connecting block and the body abut each other and aresecured by a bolt.
 4. The windshield wiper blade protector as claimed inclaim 2, wherein the connecting block and the body abut each other andare secured by a bolt.
 5. The windshield wiper blade protector asclaimed in claim 3, wherein the connecting block and the body eachcomprises a flat face formed to abut each other, the body including: ahole defined in the body and extending and perpendicular to the flatface of the body; a slit defined in an outer periphery of the body, theslit parallel to the hole in the body and communicating with the hole; aspring compressively mounted in the hole in the body; a locking pinmovably mounted in the hole in the body to press the spring, the lockingpin locking the connecting block and preventing the connecting blockfrom rotating when the bolt is loosened; and a drive pin extendingthrough the slit in the body and attached radially to the locking pin tomove the locking pin in the hole in the body; and the connecting blockincluding at least two locking holes defined in the connecting block andextending and perpendicular to the flat face of the connecting block,the locking holes in the connecting block selectively corresponding tothe hole in the body to allow the locking pin to extend into theconnecting block.
 6. The windshield wiper blade protector as claimed inclaim 4, wherein the connecting block and the body each comprises a flatface formed to abut each other, the body including: a hole defined inthe body and extending and perpendicular to the flat face of the body; aslit defined in an outer periphery of the body, the slit parallel to thehole in the body and communicating with hole; a spring compressivelymounted in the hole in the body; a locking pin movably mounted in thehole in the body to press the spring, the locking pin locking theconnecting block and preventing the connecting block from rotating whenthe bolt is loosened; and a drive pin extending through the slit in thebody and attached radially to the locking pin to move the locking pin inthe hole in the body; and the connecting block including at least twolocking holes defined in the connecting block and extending andperpendicular to the flat face of the connecting block, the lockingholes in the connecting block selectively corresponding to the hole inthe body to allow the locking pin to extend into the connecting block.